FRANCE

This picture was snapped at random during one of my trips to Paris at the beginning of this year as I walked across the love lock bridge with some female friends. Neither one of them was overly impressed with the oddball gentleman singing off-key on the bridge but I somehow fell so madly in love with his brashness that this fleeing moment has coloured my dreams like water through wine ever since. I can’t really explain it but for some reason his performance lacking any talent won me over and planted a seed that little by little has grown into a full-blown idea.

The truth is, there was something about him that made me want to try my hand at busking on this love lock bridge in Paris. Granted I don’t know how to play the ukulele and can’t carry a tune to save my life but the desire is there. After all when there’s a will, there’s a way right? What makes my idea a little more dark and twisty is that I want my set of songs to revolve around heartbreak and despair and make a one time appearance on Valentine’s Day. Sadly, my friends don’t seem to be on board with this brilliant idea and have told me to give it a whirl if I can pull off Someone Like You without sounding utterly ridiculous. Fortunately, I have zero desire to be Adele and have always pictured myself serenading people putting up their locks with the lyrics , “…if I only knew the day that I lose would be up to you because you know you said forever – still I’m passing through…”!

Don’t get me wrong, underneath it all, I am a hopeless romantic but I just don’t believe in cluttering up bridges across the world with locks. After all, what happens if the people with the main lock break up? Does that mean that someone will come by and cut this lock off and return it back to the rightful owner? Who will get the lock in the divorce settlement? Will couple who’s locks are attached to that one face the same fate? These were many of the endless questions that cropped up as we made our way from bridge to bridge in Venice and made me want to fulfill my dream of busking on a love lock bridge that much more. It may be too late for me this Valentine’s Day but there’s always next year…

Like this:

Out of all the photos I now have of the Eiffel Tower, this is far from the best of the bunch but is absolutely one of my favourite. I love how the Eiffel Tower peaks out from behind the naked tree while the blue lights from our tour bus steak across image and think this just adds to the charm of the photo.

Throw in a few hard days at the office on top of recovering from a terrible bout of the flu and you’re left with a girl that’s ill-prepared for a trip to Paris. To make matters worse, this wasn’t just an ordinary trip to Paris as I was flying in exclusively for Nuit Blanche and sadly, packing only PJs, spare pair of knickers, and a toothbrush wasn’t the brightest of ideas I’d ever had. In my defense, I didn’t want to take anything larger than a purse and so I was thinking pack light instead of practical. What became pretty obvious when I woke on Saturday was that I was lacking the proper attire to pull an all-nighter in Paris as the rain slowly but steadily drizzled down.

As anyone in my shoes would do, the first order of business was to come up with a plan in order to avoid soaking wet feet that squeaked with every step. After ducking into a few restaurants and eating 2 meals back to back in hopes that the rain would let up and allow me to go about my day, it became obvious that I was fighting a losing battle. I could feel my socks soaking up the excessive water from my shoes and it became apparent that a shopping trip for wellies was going to be my top priority in Paris. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to stumbled upon a French store called Aigle where a very eager but friendly salesman was able to outfit me with a pair of rain boots and dry socks in order to allow for mission Nuit Blanche to actually take place.

Advertising for Nuit Blanche

Once my feet were firmly planted in all terrain rubber footwear that would keep my feet dry as a bone, I felt as there was no stopping me. As the night continued, the drizzle let up for the most part and allowed for a beautiful night in Paris. In equal parts, we roamed around the streets getting lost, finding Nuit Blanche exhibits, and making pit-stops for wine and coffee but the best part of the night was the company I was with. When I planned this trip it was about being in Paris for Nuit Blanche but it became an all-nighter of fantastic girl talk and reconnecting with old friends. I think it was Woody Allen that said that Paris is particularly beautiful in the rain and I won’t disagree with him but to me Paris is simply magical in the company of good friends.